Uggggh, Oil is up again!

[anniemcu]

... Unless we can find a viable alternative to gasoline, we are seriously screwed. I don't know about you, but I can barely afford to feed my family now...if food prices keep going up, it's going to get seriously scary...especially with so many jobs going overseas!

Redwolf

Ethanol. We can produce it, from readily renewed resources, that actually pay farmers to farm, and it works. So... we pay farmers not to produce it?!? The money isn't going into the right pockets, apparently.

And yes, the impact on those in the lower income strata is much higher, and especially the rural sector. My family is seeing a huge impact. The cost of going anywhere has doubled, including the grocery store. We don't even think about vacations (haven't for years), so that isn't much of a pain, but when it costs $10 to go to church, or to visit a friend, or to get to the hardware store, it is quite an impact, even before you factor in the rise in prices for the goods.

[Tyler]

[
Ethanol. We can produce it, from readily renewed resources, that actually pay farmers to farm, and it works. So... we pay farmers not to produce it?!? The money isn't going into the right pockets, apparently.

Ethanol is a tricky subject lately, though, as they've figured out that it takes a great deal more energy to refine it on a large enough scale (depending on which veggie you use, sometimes as close as twice the ammount), and that to produce enough 'produce' we would need anywhere between ten times and thirty times the ammount of agricultural land than we do now (again, depending on your veggie). We had a group in my physics class a while back (same as when I built my water/hydrogen lawnmower) that tried to make their own Ethanol and Biodiesel products and make them run in a traditional vehicle (they paid me to tune it to running order so that they would have a decent engine to tool with). Their findings concluded that, if not refined to rediculous levels, Ethanol, and especially Biodiesel, leave organic deposits inside the engine itself that quickly slow the performance and economy of the engine, and respond less to spark than gasoline.
There was another group in our class that was able to make suitable fuel from orange juice though.... While it's not very volitile, when vaporised to a certain atomization, fresh juice from an orange (meat or peel, I cant remember) is not only flamable, but can be explosive if compressed high enough. (dont go fililng your gas tank with OJ just cause I said that though! )

[TomB]

I think it would be more productive if those families got angry and started hollering at your government to stop prioritizing unlimited profit for companies like the one you work for over the basic daily needs of the majority.

Don't you think that we folks in the U.S. do that now? We all are not just sitting around saying "whoa is me."

Tom

[missy]

While it's not very volitile, when vaporised to a certain atomization, fresh juice from an orange (meat or peel, I cant remember)........

probably peel - there's terpines and oils present in the peel.

[Tyler]

I think it would be more productive if those families got angry and started hollering at your government to stop prioritizing unlimited profit for companies like the one you work for over the basic daily needs of the majority.

Don't you think that we folks in the U.S. do that now? We all are not just sitting around saying "whoa is me."

Tom

Fiddler...
you gotta remember that our govornment listens to us the way yours does to you...

[fiddleronvermouth]

I think it would be more productive if those families got angry and started hollering at your government to stop prioritizing unlimited profit for companies like the one you work for over the basic daily needs of the majority.

Don't you think that we folks in the U.S. do that now? We all are not just sitting around saying "whoa is me."

Tom

Fiddler...
you gotta remember that our govornment listens to us the way yours does to you...

Hey, I totally understand that! I'm just saying don't let up.

As an aside, though, I think your gov't might actually pay a bit *less* attention. I have a writing-letters-to-politicians habit, and I get replies from most Canadian representatives (meaning, an issue-specific form letter generated by a human being in the politician's office who has actually read my email in order to select the appropriate form letter). I wrote one to George BUsh and I got an automated response from the White House which said (I'm paraphrasing here) "The President is too important and busy (and possibly illiterate) to read your letter, or to spare any of his employees to do it for him. I'm sure you can understand how insignificant and irrelevant your opinion is, but if you still would like a response, please visit our website where we have prefabricated responses to every conceivable issue you might wish to complain about, possibly including the one you wrote about."

[anniemcu]

Hey Tyler - I get 55mpg out of my vehicle too, and (apparently) somewhere around 170mph. Not at the same time though, obviously.

Hey Oscar - I don't know about the UK, but in the States, we call those "crotch rockets".
My son is the proud (?) owner of a 1977 Suzuki 275, 2 cycle that we affectionately (?) call the "wing-dingy-dingy", cuz that's what it sounds like.

Seen the "Annoying Thing - Crazy Frog" animation?... (snicker)

[fiddleronvermouth]

I'm going to tell my wife that we a "fairly well-to-do" when I get home. She's going to be so relieved to hear that.

I just assumed you were in that minority what with your casual talk of savings, investments, retirement plans, raises, etc. Sorry 'bout that!

I believe the British have just as much reason to scream at their government as the Americans do, but I'm sorry for getting the two countries mixed up in my ranting.

[NicoMoreno]

Don't you think that we folks in the U.S. do that now? We all are not just sitting around saying "whoa is me."

Tom

Fiddler...
you gotta remember that our govornment listens to us the way yours does to you...

Hey, I totally understand that! I'm just saying don't let up.

As an aside, though, I think your gov't might actually pay a bit *less* attention. I have a writing-letters-to-politicians habit, and I get replies from most Canadian representatives (meaning, an issue-specific form letter generated by a human being in the politician's office who has actually read my email in order to select the appropriate form letter). I wrote one to George BUsh and I got an automated response from the White House which said (I'm paraphrasing here) "The President is too important and busy (and possibly illiterate) to read your letter, or to spare any of his employees to do it for him. I'm sure you can understand how insignificant and irrelevant your opinion is, but if you still would like a response, please visit our website where we have prefabricated responses to every conceivable issue you might wish to complain about, possibly including the one you wrote about."

That's american efficiency for you!

[spittin_in_the_wind]

Well, I am seriously looking into installing a solar space heater before this winter, if I can get someone qualified to do the work. Our site is a little tricky, but I think it's workable for this. They aren't exorbitantly expensive to purchase, and at the heating oil prices of today, I think it would pay for itself in short order.

Robin

[OnTheMoor]

He got kicked off Parliament Hill on Canada Day... sponsor for the festivities? Shell Oil of course!

[missy]

unleaded just hit $2.55 here - that's a rise of 6 cents since Monday.

[Redwolf]

unleaded just hit $2.55 here - that's a rise of 6 cents since Monday.

Well, brace yourself. It's $2.80 here, and diesel is $3.00. Up 10 cents since last Friday.

Redwolf

[djm]

Well, I am seriously looking into installing a solar space heater before this winter, if I can get someone qualified to do the work.

I'm not sure where you're located, but usually solar is better for summer use, when daylight hours are longer, and the wind dies down. Wind turbines are better in winter when there are fewer daylight hours and the winds are more prevalent.

djm

[Daniel_Bingamon]

This one lady who has a studio near my shop and is always commenting on the environment, she always arrives in a van and then complains about others misusing things. hmm.

I've heard good things about geothermal heat pumps, but if everyone had one, it might raise the temperature of underground water and affect something.

Or how about those complaining about CO2 emissions, if they would stop complaining - that alone would reduce a lot of emissions.

WHO TO TRUST?

Then there are the ones who compain about our local energy company Cinergy. Cinergy burns coal, catches the flyash and converts it to gypsum for making drywall. They make electricity for about $19 per megawatt, whereas the rest of the world is over $40.
Environmentalists keep screaming that burning coal is evil , but the major alternative to coal is oil. It seems to me that the evironmentalist are helping the oil companies.
This is a bit weird and I've seen it happen before. A few years ago, DOW chemicals patent on Freon was running out. Suddenly evironmentalists everywhere were calling freon evil, it kills the ozone layer. DOW shows up with PURON to save the day -- supposedly Puron is more harmful to living things but at least it supposedly won't hurt the ozone. It sounds fishy and it sounds like someone was paid off.

I think that lot of these folks running around screaming about these issues at the Washington level are paid off by one industry to hurt another industry. :roll: It reminds me of our chickens, one chicken starts cackling and all the other chime in totally clueless on the facts. When it comes to evironmental issues, I don't believe you can trust anyone from Washington (on either side) or any of theses Self Proclaimed Experts that the media digs up.